Blackpool 0, Huddersfield Town 1

Feb 15 2006 By Mel Booth, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

WHISPER it quietly, but Chris Brandon missed the last penalty he took.

Whacked it over the bar, in fact, playing for Chesterfield against Cardiff.

You wouldn't have guessed so by the confident manner in which he drove home last night's winner from the spot at blustery Bloomfield Road.

His fine 42nd-minute dispatch - after Jason Wilcox had been sent-off for bringing down David Graham - rewarded a gritty team performance with three points and gave Town's frozen fans something to warm the soul.

Not since October had Town recorded back-to-back League wins and they hadn't won away since Yeovil on November 12, but both those statistics were re-written at the expense of third-bottom Blackpool who, to their credit, were spirited competitors to the final whistle.

Indeed, had it not been for some smart positioning by Phil Senior in the 70th minute, ex-Emley and Accrington man Rory Prendergast would have equalised with a close-range header to a John Murphy flick.

Simon Grayson's side had also been close to taking the lead on 33 minutes, when only a brilliant deflection near the goalline from commanding Martin McIntosh prevented Marcus Bean's shot rippling the net.

By then, Nathan Clarke had cleared from near the line and made a couple of fine last-ditch tackles to ensure Town were in mean mood at the back on a night when the wind, rain and cutting-up pitch - which passed two earlier inspections - were conducive to individual mistakes.